PDEx listings hit record P207.4B in 2017

MANILA, Philippines — The Philippine Dealing and Exchange Corp. (PDEx), the country’s trading platform for fixed-income securities, is ending 2017 with another record high of over P200 billion in new debt listings.

The debt market closes the banner year with SMC Global Power Holdings Corp.’s listing of P20 billion worth of fixed-rate bonds yesterday.

“This listing is certainly a delightful way to cap this year for corporate bond issuances and listings, the area of activity which has been the brightest for the fixed income market in 2017,” Philippine Dealing System Group chairman and CEO Cesar Crisol said.

He said the SMC Global listing is the 29th for the year and has pushed the total face amount of new bonds listed to P207.43 billion– a new record.

“We shall end 2017 with a total outstanding amount of bonds listed at P792.5 billion, now a long way from the 2008 year-end figure of P10 billion, and marking a compounded annual growth rate of 62.55 percent for the nine year span,” Crisol said.

In 2016, total value of new listings in PDEx reached P109.66 billion.

At the start of the year, the bond market operator projected to reach P150 billion in new debt listings despite the move of the US Federal Reserve to hike interest rates, which could eventually raise borrowing costs.

Crisol said the banner performance of the bond market is expected to spill over into 2018 with a new enrollment framework and the roll out of government’s Build Build Build program.

“We look forward for to this seeing this momentum for fixed income issuances carry over into 2018 and with the Enrollment Framework live and now in place to provide issuers with two alternatives, that are, to list issues for the public or to enroll issues for QIBs (qualified institutional buyers),” he said.

“We are especially hopeful that the latter framework will develop as intended. and dovetail smoothly with the funding requirements of the infrastructure project pipeline under the Build Build Build program rolling out in the coming year,” Crisol said.